Once your hyacinths finish flowering, you’ll want to remove the blooms with the leaves intact. Only remove dead leaves to help the bulb store energy. In most areas, you can leave the bulbs in the ground or pot, and they’ll sprout and bloom the following year.
You’ll want to know more about caring for your hyacinth bulbs after they flower.
If you read this guide, you’ll have an easier time getting stunning blooms year after year.
Here’s what you need to know!
Table of Contents
Do I Leave Hyacinth Bulbs in the Ground After Flowering?
You can leave the hyacinth bulbs in the ground in most places, and they’ll grow and bloom later.
The hyacinth bulbs can survive throughout the winter without your help, as long as you don’t live in a USDA hardiness zone 6 or colder area.
If you do, you can still leave the bulbs in the earth, but you’ll need to take one or two additional steps to protect them.
You can cover them with a cloth to prevent the bulbs from freezing or remove them from the ground and store them until it gets warm enough outside to plant them.
When left in the ground, hyacinth bulbs can multiply, allowing them to spread throughout your garden beds.
You can leave them buried if you want to see more blooms the following year. Plus, you won’t need to buy more bulbs every autumn!
In Short – Hyacinth bulbs are very hardy. You shouldn’t worry about them not making it through the colder months unless you live somewhere with extreme winters.
Many people prefer to leave the bulbs in their gardens since it’s more convenient than removing them after flowering.
How Do I Store Hyacinth Bulbs?
If you do want to remove the hyacinth bulbs from the ground, you need to make sure that you store them properly.
Otherwise, they’ll die and won’t flower again while also attracting pests. It’s important to consider when to dig up the bulbs too, so they don’t wither.
The best time to remove hyacinth bulbs from the ground is after they flower:
- You’ll want to wait until the blooms wither, then remove them without touching any green leaves. Doing so allows the plant to continue storing energy for sprouting next year.
- Once you notice the leaves start turning brown, you should begin watering them less often. Then, stop watering them altogether when the leaves die.
- Give the soil time to dry before you dig up the hyacinth bulbs. Removing the bulbs from dry soil is much easier since it crumbles away from the bulb instead of clinging to it as wet dirt does.
You’ll need to cure them from there so you can store them.
You do this by setting out sheets of newspaper or parchment in a dark and cool place.
Lay the bulbs out for three to five days, then store them in a breathable mesh bag or shallow, open box. Keep your bulbs in a dark, cool place, and wait to plant them again in the fall.
How Do I Replant Hyacinth Bulbs?
You can expect hyacinth bulbs to live for about three to four years; they’ll continue blooming each season during that time.
However, you need to know how to replant them appropriately:
- You should move the bulbs to your garden in the fall, planting them about five inches apart.
- Then, water the bulbs and keep the soil well-moistened after.
- When spring comes, you’ll notice the hyacinths sprouting from the ground. You shouldn’t have to give the plant additional care, aside from water, until it flowers.
- When the hyacinths form buds, you’ll want to keep an eye on them and only water the flowers when the soil is very dry.
- Once they bloom, use fertilizer to help the hyacinths get their necessary nutrients.
- Lastly, remove any dead blooms from the flowers, so the plants can spend their energy on forming more.
If you want to replant the bulbs again next year, it’s also essential that you remove the blooms before they create seeds.
At that point, the bulb has spent too much energy on seeding, and likely won’t make it to the next season, even after you cure it.
What Do I Do With Potted Hyacinth Bulbs?
If you don’t have a garden and grow your hyacinths in pots, you can:
- Remove the bulbs and replant them similarly to if you had a garden.
- Or, you can leave the hyacinth bulbs in the pot to bloom the following year again.
Start by removing faded blooms and giving the foliage time to store sunlight. After the leaves start withering, you can remove them.
Next, dig the bulbs out of the pot, cure them, and store them. You can easily replant them again in the fall.
However, you can leave them in the pot if you’d like. The bulbs will remain dormant until spring, when they send small shoots out of the ground.
You can expect the bulbs to continue flowering for a few years, as long as you trim the dead flowers back after they finish blooming.
You must move your hyacinth pots to a cool, dark place to store them. The light can easily dry out the soil too much, making it difficult for the flowers to return.
Many hyacinth lovers keep their pots with a brown paper bag over the soil to prevent light from reaching the bulbs.
What Do I Do With Hyacinth Bulbs in a Warm Area?
Hyacinth bulbs do well in the winter because they prefer colder conditions.
So, if you live somewhere warm, you’ll want to remove the bulbs from the ground and refrigerate them for about six weeks before replanting them.
- Fragrant Hyacinth Mix 12 bulbs/Pack
- Perennial in Zones 4 - 8
- Size 15/16 cm
- This item will Bloom/Grow Mid Spring
- Hyacinth orienta
You only need to do this if the temperatures don’t drop below 60°F (about 15.6°C). Otherwise, you can easily leave them in your garden bed to bloom again.
If you live in a hot place:
- It’s a good idea to bring the bulbs inside, cure them, and store them somewhere cool and dark.
- Then, you can easily transplant the hyacinth bulbs to your outdoor garden later.
Hyacinths prefer colder temperatures— they’ll have brighter, fuller blooms in these areas.
However, you can always “fake” cold temperatures for the bulbs by leaving them in your refrigerator for several weeks after they finish flowering.
You’ll notice you get much better results with the plants when you do your best to keep them cold.
What Do I Do With Hyacinth Bulbs in a Cold Area?
Conversely, you might live in a place with frigid winters.
Hyacinth bulbs can easily survive in winter unless it gets colder than a USDA zone six.
You’ll want to cover the soil over the bulbs with a blanket, straw, or leaves to help prevent them from freezing.
Hyacinth bulbs do well in areas that have consistent weeks of 40°F to 45°F (4.4°C to 7.2°C) temperatures.
You’ll notice the blooms turn out the most stunning when you have weather in this range for at least 12 weeks.
Key Takeaway – Hyacinths do well in the cold and tolerate freezing temperatures. Many species of hyacinths can even thrive in temperatures well below freezing. However, you’ll want to ensure you have the correct ones before exposing them to the cold.
Conclusion
Overall, you’ll want to remove the blooms with the leaves intact.
Only remove dead leaves, this will help the bulbs store energy.
Many people prefer to leave the bulbs in the ground because it’s more convenient. Don’t worry about them freezing.
Unless you live in extremely cold conditions your Hyacinth bulbs should survive the colder months.
If so, then you’ll want to cover the soil over the bulbs with a blanket, straw, or leaves to help prevent them from freezing.
- How to Dry Basil Leaves: A Professional Guide
- Is an Avocado a Fruit or Vegetable? Simple Answer and Explanation
- Does Pineapple Have Seeds? Exploring the Anatomy of Pineapples
- Blooming Through Winter: Can I Grow Vegetables Indoors in the Winter?
- What Can You Grow in a Greenhouse All Year Round: A Guide to Year-Round Greenhouse Gardening
- Are Blueberries Blue? Debunking the Myth of Their Color
